There is still plenty of space available for the Pack 24 overnight to the First Division Museum on Friday, March 20th. We can’t promise you the weather will be better, but we are sleeping inside, in the museum, so will be safe no matter the conditions. This outing is a lot of fun for the scouts (and school-aged siblings) because it features:

A chance for scouts to climb & play on actual retired US Army tanks.

A very accessible & interesting museum featuring replicas from the historical deployments of the US Army’s First Infantry Division

Replica historical costumes & gear for the scouts to try on and get dressed in

First Division Museum at Cantigny is about 20 miles from Riverside, probably a half hour trip taking I-88 West.

Scouts + Tanks = Fun!

Cost is $50 for adults / $30 for scouts & siblings. Registration closes on Sunday, February 28 – with no exceptions since we have to give our list & payment to the museum. So don’t delay, if you’re interested, click here to register – TODAY.

Good Morning, we have filled about 1/2 of our minimum commitment of 40 participants for this excellent overnight. So registration is now open for school-aged siblings of Pack 24 scouts; the cost is the same as the scouts – $30 per sibling. The museum wants a final count from us by February 28, so registration will close on this date.

When the Pack went on this outing a few years ago, everyone agreed it was one of the best overnights we have ever done. The First Division museum is one of those hidden gems in the Chicago area that you probably haven’t heard too much about before. All the details on this event can be found in this previous post.

If you haven’t slept on the floor for a long time, get ready because its time to register for the Pack 24 Overnight at the First Division Museum at the Cantigny Park (just west of Wheaton – about 20 miles away). There is limited space for this event, so it is first-paid, first served, so don’t delay and register ASAP.

A Tank at Cantigny

The pack went on this overnight a few years ago and the scouts LOVED IT. The First Division museum has an outdoor tank display that the scouts are free to climb on. The museum itself is dedicated to the service of the men & women that served in the US Army’s First Division and there are excellent displays for the scout to explore, and later sleep in. The staff were very friendly and helpful and we were able to do some hands-on crafts like making a model tank and creating a camouflage hat. There was also time to dress up in replicas of historical army uniforms. They provided us hot meals for both dinner and breakfast.

By the way, this is an indoor overnight.

Here’s the tentative schedule of AWESOME activities:

5:30pm – Plan to arrive on time so you can set-up your overnight gear before the tour

6:00pm – Guided Tours of Main Exhibit Hall will begin at 5:40 and the last tour will start at 6:00pm

8:30am – Out of the building – (Note: you can stay and explore the grounds!)

This is a Pack 24 only event if we have at least 40 register, which the leaders don’t expect will be an issue. Due to space constraints only 60 can participate, so at the current time we are not able to accommodate siblings or crossing over Webelos II. We will open it to siblings and Webelos II in a few days if there is still space.

The cost is $50 for adults and $30 for scouts, this includes all the meals, activities, and a patch. Click here to register.

The Blue & Gold banquet registration will close on February 15. This is going to be a great event with a chance for a lot of interactive fun with a comedian – magician. The banquet will be at the Riverside Golf Course on February 22, starting at 4pm. Click here to register today.

Yummy – pancakes!

Our annual pancake breakfast is on Saturday March 7. We are asking all scouts to work one 45 minute shift. Please click here to register your scout to help with this event. Note to parents of Webelos II scouts, do not register here, you will be signing up separately as members of Troop 24 with different duties.

The Riverside Theater Guild is hosting is annual musical at Hauser Junior High, this year’s show is “Babes on Broadway.” Shows are scheduled for Saturday, Feb 21 @ 3pm / Sunday, Feb 22 @3pm / Friday, Feb 27 @ 7:30pm / Saturday, Feb 28 @ 3pm / Sunday, Mar 1 @ 3pm. Come see the pack 24 scouts which are cast members in this show! Ticket cost is $8 per person, but a special discounted scout price of $5 is available by contacting Anna Clark (acooney9@comcast.net).

To get you ready for summer camping, there will be a BSA sponsored event at the Cabela’s in Hoffman Estates from 10am – 3pm on Saturday, February 28. There will be activities for scouts such as a shooting range, scavenger hunt and fire building demonstrations. Everyone that registers will receive a lanyard, and there will be a drawing for a $250 gift certificate. The pack is not sponsoring this event, but if you’re interested in attending, register at the link below, if you have any questions, please contact (Emily.Rinaldi@scouting.org):

http://nwsc.doubleknot.com/event/1619010

Finally, be sure to save the date of March 20th for our overnight at the First Division Museum at the Cantigny Park in Winfield. When we did this event a few years ago, it was hugely popular with the scouts, and we expect to completely fill the 60 spaces that are available. We will begin registration soon, so stay tuned for the details.

We don’t have a Tuesday night (Feb 10) pack meeting this month since we have the Blue & Gold Banquet on Sunday, February 22. Since we have so many new scouts – here is a summary of why the Blue & Gold is a big deal:

We hold it in February to commemorate the founding of Boy Scouts on February 8, 1910

It is going to be a lot of fun for everyone, with an entertainment program featuring the comedy & magic tricks of Tim Balster

We have a ceremony for all Webelos II scouts that have earned the Arrow of Light – which is the highest award in cub scouts

The Webelos II scouts then cross over to join the ranks of the Troop 24 Boy Scouts

A delicious buffet dinner will begin after all of the ceremonies

A slide show of our major events during the year

A souvenir program for each scout

Finally, all scouts that participate in the event will be given a sweet patch to commemorate the event.

This year’s Blue & Gold will be held at the Riverside Golf Club, which is conveniently located at 2520 Des Plaines, in North Riverside. The whole family is invited to attend. Click here to register & pay by the February 15 deadline.

Also, Scout Sunday is this Sunday, February 8. Please check with your home church to see if they have any scout programs planned. If you don’t have a home church, you are welcome to come to the Sunday morning services at our charter organization, the Riverside Presbyterian Church, which begin at 10am. Scouts should come to services in their class A uniform, are welcome to stay for the coffee hour reception which will begin at the conclusion of the church service.

The 2015 Pinewood Derby was a huge success. We had 61 scouts participate, which is the vast majority of the Pack. Thanks to everyone that stepped up to help, especially Pinewood Chairman Bill Schlesser and the Troop 24 scouts that helped run the race.

We do not have a Tuesday night pack meeting in February, instead we meet as a pack at the Blue & Gold Banquet on February 22. We are returning to the Riverside Golf Club for this year’s Blue & Gold to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America, recognize the accomplishments of our Webelos II scouts before they cross-over to the ranks of Troop 24, and have some fun. The Blue & Gold organizers have arranged for a special visit from a magician / entertainer. The whole family is invited to attend. The cost is subsidized for scouts.

We also have registration continuing for the Polar Prowl on February 13. This event is open to all the cub scouts in our area and we have a lot of fun sledding (as weather permits), hiking, playing games in the snow and warming up with a campfire & soup. There is a patch for everyone that comes to the Prowl. There is no cost for pack 24 scouts to attend, so click here to register today.

The 2015 Pinewood Derby is just a few short days away. Here are some friendly reminders to help with your final preparations.

Registration closes at noon! You can check-in your car any time from 10am to noon. Cub scouts cannot handle the cars after check-in, but are free to test it on the track up until noon. We will have a pit crew to help with any final adjustments from 10am to noon. Cars cannot be checked-in after noon. Your scout will receive ballots for voting for the cars with the best design in his den.

Stay for lunch at the RPC. The Girl Scouts of Troop 657 will be running a lunch stand in the downstairs social hall and will be serving items such as: homemade chicken noodle soup & French bread, homemade sloppy joes, cheese & sausage pizza, chips, clementines, lemonade. They’ll also have a variety of delicious baked goods for sale afterwards.

Summer Camp presentation begins at 12:45pm. There are a lot of new camping options this year as a result of the counsel merger. We’ll have a 15 minute presentation and Q&A session from a counsel representative.

Flag Ceremony at 1pm & Racing thereafter! Scouts will race by rank, starting with Tigers and ending with Webelos II. Before each den begins racing, we will award scouts that have won a design award. The top three cars in each den will receive a trophy. When all dens are done racing, we will have a championship round, and the top five cars will receive a trophy.

Volunteers still needed. We expect to have a lot of scouts & family on hand to participate in this fun event. We still need a few parents to cover the movie room and of course, post race cleanup is always necessary as well. To make this the best pinewood derby ever, please sign up here:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040e4cadaa2da20-pinewood1

Other. Rules can be found here: Derby Rules 2012 (the 2012 rules still apply – no changes). Design categories are: